1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile mail system and, more particularly, to a facsimile mail receiving system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Facsimile mail equipment established at a mail center is connected to a telephone exchange which in turn is connected to a plurality of subscriber facsimile machines (hereinafter called fax machines). The equipment is capable of broadcasting information simultaneously to a plurality of fax machines, storing in an appropriate order the information that may be received substantially at the same time, and transmitting the stored information to destinations in the order in which the information was received. Such facsimile mail equipment is included in a facsimile mail system that illustratively distributes in-house documents and slips within a corporation and, in the case of securities firms, sends securities-related information to subscribed customers.
Generally, there are three ways to utilize facsimile mail service. The first way is for the user to call up the mail center by telephone and input a push-button signal string (PB signal string) by operating push-buttons of the telephone set in accordance with a voice guidance sent from the mail center. The second way is for the user to attach an optical mark reader sheet (OMR sheet) to the first page of the document to be transmitted so that both the OMR sheet and the document will be sent together to the mail center. The third way is to designate before document transmission such conditions as a destination and a kind of service desired for each of the call receiving lines connected to the facsimile mail equipment set up at the mail center. When the user transmits by fax machine only a document with no specific PB signal-based or OMR sheet-based designation attached to it, the facsimile mail equipment forwards the document to the destination fax machines according to the previously established conditions.
Where the third way above is resorted to for the use of the mail service offered by the facsimile mail system, the system is easier to operate because the user need not perform PB signal- or OMR sheet-based pre-transmission designation. However, there are a number of disadvantages with the third way of making use of facsimile mail service. For example, the information received over a line for which facsimile-related conditions were previously established is processed solely according to the established conditions of that line. This means that the calling line is usable only under its established conditions and is not available for facsimile transmission based on the PB signal- or OMR sheet-based designation.
Another disadvantage is that it is necessary to perform bothersome, time-consuming chores of modifying line conditions of any line if any condition of that line needs to be changed. On the other hand, where the facsimile mail system is utilized on the basis of PB signal- or OMR sheet-based designation, it is impossible to make unconditional use of the system.